Chapter Text
Bradley stared down at the tiny bundle of joy wrapped up in a blanket with awe on his face. The baby cooed and opened its little eyes, blinking back at him from the hospital bassinet.
“She has your eyes,” Bradley murmured to his husband Jake without looking away from the baby. Sure enough her eyes were a bright blue like the clearest pond on a sunny day.
Jake was openly crying with joy, tears dripping down his face as he wrapped his arms around Bradley’s waist from behind him, leaning against him for support.
“She sure does,” he croaked out, “and your smile.”
Bradley grinned at that, reaching forward to offer the baby girl his finger which she gingerly grasped with her own miniature fingers. He smiled, turning away to catch a glimpse of his husband’s face. Jake wore a similar expression of joy, shock, and wonder and Bradley knew that his husband was just as overjoyed as he was to finally be here.
It had been a long road to say the least. Both pilots were in their forties by now and had been married for five years when they started talking about having kids. Two years, countless doctors appointments and surrogate appointments later, they had a brand new baby girl.
The two (now three) of them stayed at the hospital overnight to make sure the baby was ok. Bradley and Jake were exhausted, sweaty, hungry, and mildly terrified and they hadn’t even given birth to the baby.
Speaking of which…
“Hey,” Bradley greeted Emily, their surrogate mother. It felt weird to be so casual after she’d just given birth to their child but he couldn’t think of what else to say he was so tired.
“Hi,” she smiled, looking up from her hospital bed with an exhausted grin.
She looked tired but healthy - her labor had been nearly nine hours long which felt insane to Bradley but apparently was normal.
“Can I get you anything?” Jake asked from behind him, snapping Bradley out of his thoughts.
“Yeah like a sandwich would be great,” she said, then added, “I really just want the bread though..”
Jake chuckled, “bread it is then,” he said, throwing in a mock-salute and heading out to hunt down food from the 24/7 cafeteria in the hospital lobby.
He pressed a quick kiss to Bradley’s cheek on the way out and Bradley smiled, Jake’s southern manners refused to die even all these years later and he was surprised that his husband hadn’t called Emily “ma’am”.
Bradley turned back to Emily, she was watching them with a soft smile on her lips. Bradley fidgetted, unsure of what to say even though he’d met her many times before he felt like he’d made her go through a hard experience out of selfishness.
She must have read his expression because she said, “Bradley, I’m gonna be alright. This is my job, remember?”
Bradley nodded, swallowing back a sudden rush of emotion for this lovely woman who had given them his daughter. He felt tears well at the back of his eyes over the sheer amount of stress and emotion that had happened that day and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“C’mere,” Emily smiled, motioning him forward.
Bradley went willingly, carefully pulling her into a hug. His tears dripped down onto her hospital gown but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Thank you,” he whispered, “thank you so much.”
She squeezed him back firmly. “You're welcome,” she murmured.
When Bradley found Jake again his husband was also being held by a pair of familiar arms as it appeared the Bradshaw-Seresins needed the emotional comfort.
“Hey Uncle Sli,” Bradley said when he found the two of them tucked into the waiting room chairs together.
Jake looked up from where he was cradled practically in Sli’s lap with a teary smile. “God we’re a mess huh?” he exclaimed, wiping his eyes. Bradley just shrugged and took a seat next to them on his own uncomfortable chair where they’d been camped out during the labor.
“Hi Brads,” Uncle Sli greeted him, his arms never leaving Jake’s sides. “Wood and Wolf will be here in the morning, fraid’ it's a little too late for them to drive all the way out here,” He said with a frown.
Bradley nodded in understanding then his expression dropped, “and Mav?” he asked, unable to keep the hope and disappointment out of his voice.
Slider frowned, biting the inside of his cheek the way he did when he didn’t like what he had to say.
“I’m so sorry kiddo, he can’t make it in till next week.”
Bradley sighed, doing his best to keep from crying again. “S’ ok,” he muttered, ducking his head. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, grounding him, and he leaned into it readily.
Logically, Bradley knew that Mav was off in the middle of the atlantic ocean doing crazy test-pilot shit and that with Ice no longer around to give him favors he hadn’t been able to score leave when the due date was so uncertain. But illogically, Bradley was upset and emotionally drained and a little terrified that he would fuck this kid up and he just wanted his Dad.
He let out a long breath, flopping back in his chair and closing his eyes. He wondered if maybe that’s how his daughter would feel one day…
Bradley woke up to a rough shake.
“Wha-”, he mumbled. His eyes snapped open to find the smirking face of his husband staring at him.
He scowled and Jake only grinned, apparently over his crying for the moment. “C’mon,” he said, gesturing for Bradley to get up and follow him. “I figure we have time to see her before we turn in,” he said and Bradley knew who he was talking about.
They wandered down the halls together and Bradley realized that it must be very late at night. The windows looking outside were pitch black and hardly any of the nurses stations were full. What day was it again? He shook his head, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was the way Jake eagerly led the way to the newborn nursery, his hunched over shoulders caused by sitting in those shitty chairs all day and night illuminated by the glow of the fluorescent lights. Bradley smiled a small smile, Jake had never looked better than he did as a Dad.
They reached the little window through which new parents could see into the newborn nursery and Jake stopped. Bradley came up next to him and peered through the glass. He’d only ever seen these nurseries in movies where the new parents stare adoringly through the window but he was very glad that they existed.
Jake’s nose was practically pressed against the glass so Bradley asked, “you see her?”
Jake nodded and pointed one finger against the glass. “Right there,” he whispered, gesturing towards the far end of the rows of bassinets to a baby girl marked by her pink cap and blankets and her bright blue eyes.
Bradley smiled, joining Jake in shoving his face against the glass to get closer to her. He stared at her little plastic bassinet where she slept peacefully and said, “So when are we gonna name her?”
Yes, it was true that they hadn’t decided on a name yet. Nothing seemed ‘right’ and anyways they had wanted to be surprised about the baby’s gender so it was hard to narrow down. Still, a part of Bradley was convinced that this meant they weren’t truly good parents yet.
Jake smiled, seeming more at peace when he could see that the baby girl was safe and sound. “I don’t know,” he said, then, a beat later, “how about Caroline? For your mom.”
Bradley turned to look at him. Jake’s exhausted, weary face was caught under the fluorescents of the lights in the empty hallway in the quiet hospital and Bradley loved him so much in that moment. He pressed his lips to Jake’s in a searing kiss. I’m right here, he said with that kiss, thank you, he said with the next.
They parted a moment later and Bradley tipped his forehead against Jake’s chest, their arms intertwined and holding each other up. No words were needed.
But leave it to Hangman to use them anyways, “is this just so you don’t have to admit that we don’t have a name when we see Mav?” he asked. Bradley smacked him.
______
The next morning dawned bright and early and Bradley felt a little bit more ready to face it. The sun was shining fiercely through the windows as he and Jake stumbled down to the hospital cafeteria to grab cups of coffee in the morning.
They were greeted by the grinning faces of Hollywood and Wolfman who were armed with the couple’s favorite jelly doughnuts from the place near their house.
“Oh my god I love you,” Jake exclaimed when he saw the doughnuts. He snatched the box from Uncle Wolf and held it to his nose, inhaling deeply.
“Nice to see you too,” Uncle Holly laughed.
Bradley shook his head in exasperation then went to accept a hug from both of his uncles while his husband wolfed down the doughnuts.
“Jake is a little tired of the hospital food,” Bradley explained with a chuckle.
“Tastes like sawdust an’ heartburn,” Jake pouted with a jelly doughnut half in his mouth.
“Whatever,” Wolf exclaimed, “let’s see the baby!” he grinned eagerly.
Bradley grinned as Hollywood slapped his husband and reprimanded him on manners and then they all followed Jake and Bradley’s directions back to the nursery. Slider was waiting for them there, holding his own doughnut which Jake eyed like he might steal. Bradley rolled his eyes.
“Hey Dads,” he greeted them with a sly grin. The title made Bradley’s stomach do summersaults but he swallowed it back and went to approach the nursery window next to Slider.
He let out an anxious breath when he saw that their baby girl, Caroline, was perfectly fine and fast asleep in her bassinet.
“Know when you're gonna get out of here?” Sli asked, laying a hand on Bradley’s shoulder.
“Hopefully soon,” He responded.
‘Soon’ turned out to be too soon. Bradley felt a little bit like he was drowning when he and Jake went to pack up their stuff a half an hour later to leave the hospital.
He stared at his husband with wide eyes and exclaimed, “you mean they're just gonna let us leave? I feel like I need more training!”
Jake, the reasonable one for once, responded, “I think we’ll make it Roo, besides we’ve got a team of aviators to help.”
A few minutes later they collected Caroline from the nursery. Bradley reached down to pick her up, ever so slowly and carefully. His hands felt way too big compared to her tiny delicate body and he irrationally worried that he’d break her. Shit, they should have had more practice with babies before now he thought.
Jake came up next to him and gently brushed a finger along her forehead once she was in Bradley’s arms.
“She’s so little,” he murmured in reverence, voicing Bradley’s thoughts.
Caroline’s blue eyes blinked open and she stared at her Dads, cooing softly and squirming a little in Bradley’s arms. Bradley smiled down at her, she seemed like a happy baby so far.
“Alright,” Jake said in his ear, “let’s get this show on the road.”
They received some basic instructions from the nurses and then packed Caroline into her baby carseat for the ride home which thankfully wasn’t too long.
When they emerged from the nursery with Caroline in her carseat the various Uncles were thrilled to finally meet her in person.
“Ohhhh,” “Ahhhh,” They murmured, passing her around and marveling at her tiny size.
Jake and Bradley stood by watching carefully with pride and wondering if they’d been that obsessed when they first met her. Probably.
Jake carried Caroline out to the car in her carseat to start getting it set up and Bradley went to fetch the last of their belongings from the hospital. Slider joined him to help carry stuff and as they made their way out of the hospital for the last time Bradley paused.
He could see Jake in the parking lot trying to install the carseat and failing miserably under the watchful eyes of Hollywood and Wolfman. The bright sun was reflecting off of their newly-purchased sensable minivan.
Bradley swallowed hard, “do you think I can do this?” he whispered.
Slider’s hand landed on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
“Never doubted you for a second kiddo,” he said.
With that Bradley nodded, sucked in a deep breath, and walked out of the hospital to start his new life.